Church Based Community Transformation
Church Mobilization
The local church is God’s preferred approach to continuing His mission on Earth and the best way to transform lives, restore relationships and lift people out of poverty.
We help local churches lift their communities out of poverty.
The local church is found is found in some of the most remote places on Earth. It has local knowledge, local relationships, and a life-changing capacity rooted in something deeper. As a community striving to be Christ-centered, loving, accessible, and sustainable, the local church is best placed to help families ot of poverty.
Yet, this is often challenging. Churches often don’t understand their role in holistic ministry or are faced with poverty themselves. With limited resources and lack of training, they don’t know where to start or how to help.
We walk alongside local churches to help them overcome poverty in their communities through a whole-life response to the gospel. Using an approach called Church-based Community Transformation, we train, equip, and enhance the capacity of churches to be able to go out into their communities and put an end to poverty.
How it Works
Over the last 30 years, Tearfund globally has helped to develop training and processes that take local churches on a journey to church-based community transformation. Although each case is unique, it can typically be divided into 5 phases.
1. Church Awakening
Through a series of Bible studies, we help churches understand their role and relationship with the immediate community. This stirs the church to begin engaging its immediate community, to take action to deal with its poverty, and influence the life of the community, thus truly becoming ‘salt and light’.
2. Church and Community Description
The church and community to understand their situation and desire to change it. The church explores the entire scope of their context – physical, spiritual, economic, social – and begin to determine strategies to transform it.
3. Information gathering and Analysis
The church collects detailed information about the community and issues it faces. They gain a true and full picture of the situation and allows them to take action now from an informed position.
4. Action Plan and Training
The church creates an action plan to address the needs around it. Often, this includes problems we can help with, such as food security or revenue generation. During this time Tearfund will provide additional training such as climate-smart agriculture training, VSL groups, and more.
5. Evaluation and Improvement
Over time the church will evaluate its current efforts and progress. It will then develop plans to improve and continue the work God is calling them to.
Unleashed Impact
When churches are unleashed there’s no limit to what they can do.
From despair to HOPE! How the church changed Ukume's life.
When Ukume’s husband died, she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t have enough money to buy food, much less pay expensive health fees. Soon, she wasn’t even able to pay rent. If she didn’t come up with something soon, she would be homeless.
But then, a miracle happened. Energized by Tearfund’s church training, members of Abela Faracho Kale Heywet Church saw Ukume’s condition and stepped in. Today, her needs are met and she is a woman of hope, not despair.
How a widow's funeral filled more seats at God's table
Upon receiving Tearfund’s church mobilization training. Gununo Stadium Kale Heywet Church opened its doors wholly to its community. They meet the needs of several families, including one widow.
Unfortunately, that widow passed away, and Gununo Church offered to pay for the funeral. At the funeral, something miraculous happened.
She became the sole provider for her younger siblings.
At only 21, Mercy became the sole provider for her younger siblings and cousins. It was near impossible for her to make ends meet. In the face of overwhelming challenges, one local church stepped in. Empowered by church mobilization training, the church rallied around mercy, helping provider her immediage needs and even restart her mother’s grocery business.
Shambles to Shelter: All hands on deck!
Jehoshaphat’s house was falling apart. He would wake up abruptly to pieces of his roof crumbling on him in the night, and with no family, he had nowhere to go.
Enter in Pastor Helen and Kyale GNCA Church in Kenya. Empowered by church mobilization training, they created a plan and got to work.
Impact by the Numbers
(2023)
churches empowered
0
projects initiated by local churches
0
congregants mobilized
0
What we really like about Tearfund's model is how they work with the local church. How in every context they try to make the local church the thing that empowers the people around them and meets their physical needs as well as their spiritual needs.
Further Reading
CCT Church Training Manual
Want to dig deep and get right into the details of church-based community transformation? Download our complete CCMP training manual to learn everything you need to know about church mobilization – and even run it yourself!
What is Church Mobilization?
This is for those who want to learn more and dig deeper into the theology, methodology and frequently asked questions of church mobilization but don’t want to read the entire training manual!
(Coming soon!)
Church Impact Survey
Does engaging the church in community development really create lasting change? In this impact assessment, we present some findings of our church mobilization work in Ethiopia, and how indeed the church is a powerful catalyst for change.
Donate Today
Help local churches reach beyond their walls and lift families out of physical and spiritual poverty.
Through Tearfund, your gift will equip local churches, and empower individuals, so that families can finally break the cycle of physical and spiritual poverty and see a future of opportunity and lasting hope.
